Illegal fireworks set off nearby destroy Raeford veteran's cars, char home
RAEFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- A young dad in Raeford is picking up the pieces after illegal fireworks set his cars and his home on fire during New Year's celebrations. Kevan White said he's grateful, and his daughter survived, but officials say his story represents a wider problem.
"This is all that's left of my license plate," White said as he bent down to pick up the charred, twisted tag that used to be on the back of his pickup.
White's beloved Tacoma pickup and his Mini Coupe were obliterated after getting torched by fireworks set off nearby. White said his family is trying to laugh to keep from crying.
I was just never going to get rid of the truck because every time I was riding it, I was riding with my dad.- Kevan White, on his late father
"My daughter made a joke about this looking like a burnt marshmallow," he said.
White, a veteran, said it happened minutes after midnight on New Year's Day. He and his daughter had just watched the ball drop at home when he got an alert that fireworks were going off in his neighborhood. White and his daughter escaped the fire and his home only sustained minor damage.
However, it's the emotional toll of losing his truck that held the memory of his father that he's really struggling with. White said he went on father-son adventures in the pickup before his dad died in 2022.
"I was just never going to get rid of the truck because every time I was riding it, I was riding with my dad," White said.
White said authorities may never find who's responsible, as the source of the fireworks is obscured in his surveillance footage.
Chief Rob Roegner, the chief deputy state fire marshal of North Carolina, points out that though fireworks are banned in the state with few exceptions, getting caught with them is only a misdemeanor. He compared it to paying a traffic ticket.
The law does not contain a criminal statute that severe enough for people to say, ooh, I don't want to get caught doing this.- Rob Roegner, chief deputy state fire marshal
"It is certainly not a deterrent, which is why there are so many people doing it now," Roegner said. "The law does not contain a criminal statute that severe enough for people to say, 'ooh, I don't want to get caught doing this.'"
Roegner also pointed out that some have been advocating for state laws surrounding the fireworks to become more lenient. He said residents call his office complaining about the fireworks in their communities, but their voices could get drowned out.
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"It's irritating their animals or their livestock or they're, you know, they're they're having trouble with their PTSD," Roegner said. "These stories are prevalent to me. But they don't go tell those stories of the legislature when the legislature talks about legalizing this stuff."
Anyone looking to help White's family can visit their online fundraiser.
